ABSTRACT
This chapter examines land use changes taking place in urban commons in the rapidly expanding metropolis of Bengaluru. National Land utilisation policy recognises the need to balance land use to support the needs of development—be it agriculture, industry or urbanisation. The rapidly urbanising cities in India require a similar ethic guiding their growth. For inclusive and sustainable urbanisation, this requires an understanding of how urban residents use different spaces within the city. The chapter highlights the implications for the environment of cities as a result of the loss of commons as a major concern. While Bengaluru is used as an illustrative case, similar uses of, and alienations from, commons exist in other Indian cities as well. The landscape of commons in the peri-urban interface (PUI) of Bengaluru is clearly witnessing rapid transformation. Planning for dynamic land use changes in the PUI will require the unlearning of traditional models for planning that sees the urban and rural as binaries.
